Former social services official claims he warned Department of Health of
Westminster paedophile network but was told that he was "probably
wasting [his] time"

Warnings of Westminster paedophile network were 'ignored' because 'there were too many'Photo: Alamy

By Keith Perry and agency

10:55AM BST 12 Jul 2014

A former social services official has said his warnings about the threat of a Westminster-based paedophile network were ignored because “there were too many of them over there".

David Tombs, who ran Hereford and Worcester social services, said he warned the government after the arrest of paedophile Peter Righton in 1992.

Two inquiries have been launched into historical claims of child abuse.

Tim Yeo MP, a junior health minister in the early 1990s, said he was "staggered" by the claims.

He added that he was "not aware" of a culture of child sex abuse during his time as a health minister, and said he was puzzled as to why Mr Tombs did not take his concerns further at the time and speak to his local MP.

Mr Tombs, who in charge of social services in his area for 20 years, claims that when Righton was arrested in 1992, he became aware of information through the police investigation that suggested a paedophilic network was operating.

He said what he learned would have been of "national concern" and told BBC Radio 4's Today programme: "It was coming across to me at the time that there were names there that were linked into the establishment, if you like.

"I had no particular names, but that was the impression I was getting."

He said when he alerted Department of Health representatives, he was told by civil servants that he was "probably wasting [his] time" because there were "too many of them over there".

Asked what he thought was meant by the word "them", Mr Tombs said "those within Parliament and government in Whitehall".

Mr Tombs said: “I went to the Department (of Health) because I was concerned that some of the names that came from the police investigation in Evesham related to people in my own authority and it seemed to me that there was a serious issue that would have been of national concern.

“It was coming across to me at the time that there were names there that were linked into the establishment if you like, and I had no particular names, but that was the impression I was getting. And I felt that the Government needed to be alert to it and I wanted to raise awareness of this with people who were much closer to policy making that I was.

"I went and saw senior officials in the Department of Health.

“I was drawing to their attention that this was a major problem, one which had not been recognised in the way that we now do recognise it and that it needed attention and it needed Government attention as much as local authority attention.

“I was thinking in terms of paedophile behaviour of the sort that was being revealed as a consequence of the Peter Righton arrest.

“I was disappointed because I was told that I was probably wasting my time, that there were – and the words used were along these lines – that there were too many of them over there. Now, I was talking about paedophilia. I was in the Department of Health and the ‘over there’ to me indicated, although the words weren’t used, within Parliament or within Government and Whitehall.

“I was angry. I was furious. It seemed to me that the one place I should be able to come to, to alert the nation to this issue, was the Department of Health.

“And it didn’t look as if I was going to get any kind of response. And that’s perhaps one of the reasons why I am so pleased that now that there are some nationally recognised figures being prosecuted.

“The Government is taking the matter seriously. But this is 24-25 years later on from when I was expressing my concern."

But Mr Yeo said he found Mr Tombs' claims "incredible".

He told the Today programme: "I think it's incredible, the idea that any remotely credible evidence had been shown to a civil servant at the Department of Health would have been ignored and received the comment that it apparently was.

"There was no culture of child sex abuse that I was aware of either in Whitehall or in Parliament," he added. "The whole thing is extraordinary."